Nov. 5, 2001

MILWAUKEE - The UWM cross country teams will compete this Saturday at the Great Lakes Regional Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

The Panthers are coming off the Horizon League Championships, where the men finished fourth out of eight and the women finished sixth out of eight. UIC, the ninth Horizon League school, did not have enough runners entered to qualify for a team score.

UWM was again paced on the women's side by junior Abby Hurst (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute), who finished 18th overall. The men were led by senior Cornelius Hill (Milwaukee, Wis./Bay View), who finished ninth.

Last Year at Great Lakes: Last year, the Panthers finished in 23rd place for the men and 24th place for the women. Senior Pat Harrington (West Allis, Wis./Central) was the top returning Panther, finishing in 130th place. Senior Tricia Pozel (Racine, Wis./Case) was the top female runner, finishing the race in 63rd place.

Shooting For A Third Try: Senior Cornelius Hill will be shooting for his third trip to the NCAA Championships this year. Hill twice qualified for the NCAA Championships while running for the University of South Florida. This will be Hill's first and only try to qualify out of the stronger Great Lakes Region.

Peaking at the Right Time: Two members of the men's team ran their best races of 2001 at the Horizon League Championships. Freshman Steve Saul (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) solidified his position as the team's number three runner by running 26:26. Junior Jeremy Dunn (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) also put in his best time of the year by running the 8K course in 26:34.

Longer Races: The Great Lakes Championships will be a longer race than normal for both the men and the women. The men's race will be 10K, a change from the 8K the men usually run. The women's race will be 6K, rather than the more common 5K.

The women's team has already run one 6K race on the season. The opening meet of the year, the Valparaiso Invitiational on Sept. 7 was run at 6K for the women. Abby Hurst posted the best time, running 22:39, which was nearly 30 seconds faster than her previous best at 6K from last year.

The regional races are the same distances as what runners would see at the NCAA Championships.

Up Next: Several Panthers have a shot at making the NCAA Championships in cross country. Cornelius Hill and Abby Hurst have the potential to qualify, but must stay with the lead pack throughout the race. The top two teams and the top four runners not on those two teams will qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will be held on Mon., Nov. 20, at Furman, S.C.